The
Army Quartermaster Corps
began the U.S. Armed
Forces first war dog
training during
WWII. By 1945 they
had trained almost 10,000
war dogs for the Army,
Navy, Marine Corps and
Coast Guard.
Fifteen War Dog platoons
served overseas in World
War II. Seven saw service
in Europe and eight in
the Pacific. In
1951 the responsibility
for training military
dogs was given to the
Military Police
Corps. Dogs
continued to serve the
armed forces with
distinction in Korea,
Vietnam and Desert Storm
and many recent
contingency operations.

K-9
Deployment 1965-1972

Between 1965 and 1972,
three Army Sentry Dog
Companies, two USMC
Sentry Dog Platoons and
ten Air Force Security
Police Sentry Dog
Squadrons patrolled the
many United States
military compounds and
bases through out
Vietnam. Most of the
sentry dogs were German
Shepherds with a
smattering of Belgian
shepherds. In the early
years, the dogs were
trained as
"attack" dogs
and were known to attack
almost anything,
including their handler.
In 1969, the dogs were
beginning to be trained
as "patrol"
dogs, much like the dogs
in today's police
departments. They were
trained not to attack
until commanded to do so,
or if the handler was in
duress.

The Sentry K9 Team, a
handler and his dog,
patrolled only at night
and were assigned to
secure a designated area
around the base
perimeter. They were the
first line of defense and
were left on their own to
hold off any enemy
attacks until back up
could be called in. They
also patrolled supply and
ammo depots and aircraft
flight lines and runways.

From 1966 to 1971,
twenty-one Army Scout Dog
Platoons, eleven Army
Combat Tracker Platoons,
and two Marine Scout Dog
Platoons were deployed
throughout South Vietnam.

The Army's Scouts and
Trackers were centered
mostly in I Corps and III
Corps. The Marines were
exclusively in I Corps,
mostly around the DMZ.

The 48th Infantry
Platoon, Scout Dog (IPSD)
is listed as being
located at Chu Lai, in I
Corps, but the contingent
there was very small. The
platoon was actually
located at LZ Baldy,
north of Chu Lai.

Late in the war, the
Army's main goal was to
stop the North
Vietnamese's southern
movement, through III
Corps, towards Saigon.
That might explain the
large contingent of Scout
and Tracker teams in that
area.

The differences
between sentry and scout
dogs were such that it
was difficult to expect
one to be able to do the
job of the other.
However, both types of
dogs were used to do both
types of duty...even
though they were not
trained to do so.

Army

199th LIB
49th IPSD

Scout,
Mine, Tunnel

Long Binh

Mar
67-Oct 70

K-9
Facts and Figures

Names
All military working dog's keep
the name that was given to them
in civilian life. If your dogs
name
was King, you aren't alone, 205
were named King, 184 Dukes, 123
Princes
96 Rexes, 45 Sams, 41 Rebels, 31
Majors, 28 Sheps, 24

Basic
Combat Load - Infantry Scout Dog
Handler
The usual mission for an Infantry
Scout Dog Handler in Vietnam
lasted from 3-5 days in the
field.
Everything the handler and the
dog would need to survive had to
be carried by the Handler in his
rucksack and on his pistol belt,
so, attention to such details as
necessity and weight were of
primaryconcern.

Three thousand
scout and sentry dogs went to
Vietnam to protect our troops,
and in the course of the war they
saved over ten thousand lives.
But fewer than 200 dogs ever saw
American soil again. Because they
were now considered
"equipment," they
either were euthanized in country
(under orders from our
government), or they were handed
over to the Army of the Republic
of Vietnam, which slaughtered
them for meat, bartered the hides
for Viet Cong bounties, or let
them perish from neglect.